OH THIS WEATHER, OUR QUAINT COMMUNITY and FLAVOR ENHANCERS

Little Gem Boxwoods

IT WAS SO BEAUTIFUL YESTERDAY with this morning being a completely different VIBE.  Chilly AGAIN.  Yesterday, the weather was beautiful which made getting out in it most enjoyable.  But today, the weather is on the cooler side and damp.  One of the many reasons I will stay indoors and work on LAUNDRY.  I can dry the clothing by using the clothes dryer. After looking at our utility bill, our electricity expenditure was higher than I like.  I may start air drying our clothing as it comes out of the wash machine to cut expenses.

I have done this before.  After the wash machine cycle spins coming to a stop, I pull the clothing article out of the machine one article at a time placing the items on a hanger while it is still wet allowing it to air dry on a plastic hanger skipping the step of using the clothes dryer all together. Worked like a CHARM by skipping the step of taking clothing from the washing machine placing it in the dryer and then after the items were dry, hanging them on a hanger then into closet.   

LAST NIGHT, we had rain and for a short amount of time, it hailed pea size hail.  When this started I prayed outloud and my HUSBAND joined in.  The hail let up, the storm stayed at a distance  and we went to sleep.

TODAY, the wind once again has picked up and it's chilly.  Perhaps this afternoon when the temps warm some, HUBBY will return to planting the rest of the Boxwood.  This will take all afternoon and when he is finished he will be exhausted, but the chore of getting the plants in the ground will have long lasting results for us to enjoy.  I hope he is able to continue as the plants cost a pretty penny.  The sooner in the ground the BETTER.  

Last AUTUMN, I started looking and pricing shrubs for our front flowerbed.  We found a bargain and went with this.  By the next morning the inside of the car that we had used to transport the plants had a unfavorable scent so we returned the plants and did some reading up about shrubs putting off odors.

I stalled and decided I would try later to do landscaping.  I gave great thought that I might return Irises to the front beds.  Nope, maybe rose bushes.  Nope this and nope that.  Winter set in and the beds remained empty.  I thought come MARCH, I will clean out the beds and prep it for landscaping.  When March actually arrived, I had cataract surgeries and my plans changed because I was to not bend or left anything over ten pounds.

Here it is the middle of APRIL and I felt compelled to get something to planted.  MOVING FORWARD.  We saw gorgeous LITTLE GEM BOXWOODS that were soft to the touch and things started clicking in my head that this BOXWOOD truly was what I wanted planted at the COTTAGE even with a odor they put off certain times of the year.  They beautifully retain their green coloring throughout the year.  Extremely HARDY and this is what I need by not having a green thumb.  LOW MAINTENANCE care is important to someone like me.

We did the MATH and purchased 8 of these lovelies and as HUBBY was checking out the clerk remembered that on TUESDAYS Seniors get a discount.  Pleased to do business with them. Traveled HOME and I placed the shrubs in the flowerbed spacing them.  Felt like we needed two more so this is when we journeyed back the next day to get two more.  No discount this time.  

TOPEKA's BOMGAARS has a nice plants arrangement on their parking lot where they have made a small nursery for customers to browse.  I liked the quaintness of their place.  With us living in a small community, QUAINT goes a long ways.  What's available in our town is very limited so we do shop TOPEKA a great deal as well as MANHATTAN.  I don't mind going to these cities once or twice a week for supplies.  There may come a time I do, but for now I enjoy getting out of the house and small-town America once in a while.  Coming HOME is always a HAVEN for me.  Getting our place spruced up is what we're aiming for.

The thought comes to mind that I wish I had a room on the main floor that was just a walk-in PANTRY for storing supplies so we wouldn't have to go to town so often except for milk, eggs and butter.  Stock up our supply so we have a nice supply of paper products, etc.  Just a thought.  We do have cellar that we could store things in.  Right now, it is crowded with HOLIDAY DECOR.

I'll be thinning this out as we go and then it would make better sense to use the square footage for things like toilet paper and paper towels along with canned foods.  I haven't gotten into home canning so I'm guilty of not being a functioning HOMESTEADER.  I was citified many years ago and it's what I know, but people can change.  I can morph into a HOMESTEADER on a small scale.  grins.

What GOOD Kansas HOMEMAKER doesn't know how to can food?  Me.  Oops.  

I know how to ADMIRE HOMESTEADERS and individuals that do it all especially canning and growing huge gardens.  Admiring doesn't feed the family, does it?  One should know how to survive without using grocery stores for every food purchase as well as eating out at restaurants. The foods that fast food restaurants and high dollar restaurants are serving, isn't as healthy of food as one should eat. 

Even for those that eat at Chick-fil-A thinking they are helping Christian Businesses that support their religious philosophies, the company uses MSG in their chicken.  MSG?  Yes.  Known for being a FLAVOR ENHANCER.  Check it out.  The chemical isn't the best thing to fuel your temple with.  This chemical alters the brain into thinking the food is extra delicious and you want more.  Chick-fil-A is officially a WOKE company.  They don't advertise that they are, but like most modern day businesses that want to profit from the public they are aiming to stay successful with their sales.  CHICK-fil-A.  Would S. Truett Cathy be pleased? 

For example, MSG consumption has been linked to obesity, liver damage, blood sugar fluctuations, elevated heart disease risk factors, behavioral problems, nerve damage, and increased inflammation in animal studies.  Some human research has demonstrated that consuming MSG may promote weight gain and increase hunger, food intake, and your risk of metabolic syndrome, a group of symptoms that raises your risk of chronic conditions like heart disease and diabetes.

MSG is a controversial food additive that’s found in a wide variety of products. It’s commonly added to chips, frozen dinners, fast food, instant noodles, and many other processed foods to enhance flavor.

Although some studies have linked MSG consumption with negative health outcomes, the FDA recognizes it as safe. potential effects that consuming MSG may have on both short- and long-term health.  ARE YOU SAFE WITH THE FDA?

If you feel that you’re sensitive to MSG, it’s best to avoid products that contain it. Be sure to always read food labels to ensure your items are free of MSG.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has regulations on MSG labeling, requiring ingredients to be listed in order of predominance. This allows consumers to identify the presence of MSG in fast food menu items. However, it’s important to note that MSG can also have alternative names, such as autolyzed yeast, hydrolyzed plant protein, and yeast extract, which can make it harder for consumers to identify MSG on labels.

Is hydrolyzed plant protein safe?

The adverse effects of hydrolyzed protein include anxiety, asthma, attention deficit syndrome, bloating, burning sensations, carpel tunnel syndrome, chest pains, depression, diarrhea, confusion, dizziness, drowsiness, infertility, insomnia, and heart diseases (Scopp, 1991).

humpf.
Are we really able to live LIFE in a healthier manner?  I believe we can.  It certainly requires changing what I knew to actually living a healthier LIFESTYLE. Foods need to be included.  Read the labels and research.  Being better informed requires taking responsibility with the knowledge obtained.  Making informed decisions takes being pro-active.

You know how little kids get hyperactive at times and sugar gets a bad rap as to why the child has acted up?  It probably isn't sugar alone causing the hyperactivity, moodiness or aggressiveness.  The additives, colorings and dyes add to the formula.  I wonder why these things were not brought to light before now?  Keeping it hush hush that an additive or chemical could possibly cause a person to go wonky seems to be under the table and not paid any attention.  Why?  

I know that one of my children was placed on attention deficient disorder meds when young at about 12 years old.  Ritalin.  At that time I did not know to check out what was added to the foods that were eaten might be causing issues.  This was above me.  I never even questioned that this could be a possibility of causing a reaction in my child.

After the Ritalin was started, we ended up taking our child to the emergency room at the hospital because of a racing heart.  I decided then that we would deal with our child's so called hyperactivity in a different way.  I immediately stopped giving him the Ritalin.  The medicine is short lived in their system.  Some call Ritalin SPEED.  

I would advise people to check into what the child is eating and drinking before giving them Ritalin which is a controlled substance.    

My child never was bouncing off of the walls, but was considered hyperactive having a attention issue.  If I could turn back the clock, I hope I would have done a few things different with teaching some coping mechanisms about school.

A child needs time to play during the school day and not come home from school with four hours of homework to do after a full day at a school institution.

I think my child could have been HOMESCHOOLED and benefited from it or I could have assisted them more in the HOME with their school work.  Being more relaxed about school work would have gone a very long ways. 

Sometimes, I am overwhelmed with what I am finding out.

~d